No Matter What
by InkAndPens394
Summary: Post Doomsday,AU of season three. Yes, there is 10/Rose, a depressed Doctor is taking a downward spiral to his darker ter Rose was taken from him the Doctor travels with Martha Jones,but something isn't right and how much can one man lose before it destroys him?Repost from hello.dalek98 because Dalek has an awesome friend to share accounts with.M because it's getting intense
1. Chapter 1

**_So I'm Back! And yes I'm an evil person; it's been said before. :D Anyway, this slightly AU on the beginning of season 3, which means post Doomsday. Jumps around a bit at first as a set-up; then things really spiral out of control. :D So, episodes referenced and used; first off Gridlock and then Daleks in Manhattan and Evolution of the Daleks! _**

To say that Martha Jones was concerned would have been a monumental understatement. The past day had been one of the hardest in her life, kidnapped, trapped in a car being attacked by unknown creatures, and relying entirely on a man who she knew almost nothing about to save her; she had been terrified, now she was frightened again, this time for the Doctor.

The Doctor saved her, but she wondered what it had cost him; certainly, he lost a friend, but she sensed it was something more than that. There was a heaviness in his voice and a stiffness in his movement that hadn't been there before. Now, as he spoke of his lost home, of the war that cost him his people, of the choices he was forced to make, Martha finally understood what Shakespeare had meant about 'A man so young having eyes so old'. His eyes were old; filled with pain and exhaustion and the weight of so many years; so much loss slowly crushing him.

"So, Martha Jones!" the Doctor's voice startled her out of her contemplation. "One more trip, eh? I don't think this one really counts." He attempted a smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He got to his feet, slightly unsteadily Martha noted, "Allons-y, Martha Jones!"

She followed him, because he was the Doctor, and though she may not know him well, she trusted him.

* * *

The Doctor was exhausted. Before going to New New York he was already feeling the effects of being attacked by a psychotic Plasmavore and a desperate Carrionite; add jumping through dozens of traffic layers in choking fumes and the Doctor feared he was fighting a losing battle with his own strength.

He should take Martha home before he failed completely and gave into his exhaustion; he shouldn't risk her safety, but he could not bear the thought of being alone with his overwhelming guilt and pain.

_"You are not alone,"_ the Face of Boe's last words haunted him. One more pointless death, one more innocent sacrificed because he could not save them. _"You are not alone," _those words should have given him hope; instead the reminded him of everything he had lost. Rose would know what to do; what to say, Martha was clever, she was kind, but she wasn't Rose.

_"You are not alone," _but he **was **alone, he was so alone.

"Doctor?" he looked up to find Martha watching him with an expression he recognized a professional concern. "I never asked, how did you find me?"

The Doctor forced himself to smile. "Cat with a teleport, teleporting cat nun-" he broke off in relief as the Tardis touched down with its usual wheeze. Once Martha saw the skyline of New York, the _old_ New York, stretching away outside the Tardis doors she evidently forgot she had been about to cross examine him.

The Doctor stifled a cough as he followed Martha out the Tardis doors and tried to ignore the growing pressure in his chest that was making it increasingly harder to draw breath.

* * *

It was freezing cold atop the Empire State building. The Doctor shivered, his coat flapping around him ineffectually; the frigid air was not making it any easier for him to breath. He forced his numb fingers to work, wrapping them around the sonic screwdriver as he fought to detach the Dalekanium.

There wasn't enough time; he could feel electricity gathering as the storm blew in and lightning flashed across the dark, scudding clouds. The first piece of Dalekanium came free with a jerk and he pushed it away. Thunder crashed across the sky; the consequence of a major atmospheric disturbance. _Too soon, too soon! Please! There are so many; please, let me save them!_

As if in mockery of his desperate plea the wind picked up in velocity, gusting fiercely around him. He shuddered, the cold was intense; even for a Time Lord, and the sonic screwdriver dropped from his numb fingers. He lunged after it; too slow, and heard it clatter to a halt somewhere far below.

The Doctor pulled desperately at the remaining Dalekanium; the freezing metal tearing at his hands...

10...9...8...

Not enough time...

7...6...5...

One chance, one last plan, he scrambled up the mast, clinging desperately to the swaying spire...

4...3...2...

_I'm sorry, Martha, I'm so sorry; I trapped you here..._

1

Agony tore through him and he gritted his teeth to hold back a scream. _Just a few more seconds..._but he lost his grip and the world faded around him as he fell.

_...__To be continued..._

_**Opps, sorry, kinda had to end it there. Please don't kill me?**_

_**By the way, I don't own Doctor Who, just borrowing, although I can't promise to return the characters in their original condition. MUAHAHA**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Here I am again with another chapter as promised. I just realized I should probably add a disclaimer; I'm not Russell T. Davies or Stephen Moffat although I have been reliably informed I could easily be mistaken for his apprentice. Anyway, on with the story, enjoy and please leave me a review if you have time. Reviews are cool!**_

"Doctor!" Martha dropped to her knees beside the crumpled figure; silently thanking whatever power existed in the universe that he had not fallen further. "Look what I found halfway down...you're getting careless Doctor." She pulled out the sonic screwdriver hooping desperately that the Doctor would bounce smiling and insisting he was fine.

"Doctor!" She shook him a little more roughly than she intended. He groaned opened his eyes blearily and immediately shut them again with a grimace of pain.

"Ow...my head!" he blinked at her uncomprehendingly for a few seconds before he seemed to realize who she was. For a moment she thought his expression was one of disappointment; then it was gone. "So, you survived then."

Martha smiled in utter relief. "So did you, just about." Then she gave him a look that stated more clearly than words; _I'm a doctor too, almost, and you were unconscious so don't think for a second that I am letting this go, mister._

The Doctor grinned, obviously receiving the message loud and clear.

"Doctor..." Martha felt a wave of panic as she saw the strange, lumpy metal still attached to the mast. "I can't help but notice...there's still Dalekanium attached!" The Doctor was on his feet in an instant; grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the ladder.

"Come on!"

* * *

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Martha's voice pulled the Doctor's wandering mind back to the present.

"Pig and a showgirl? Anywhere else and I'd be worried about them, but this New York." The Doctor rubbed a tired hand across his face, suddenly wanting nothing more than to get back to his Tardis and sleep for a hundred years, or possibly have a good cup of tea-tea was good, tannins, just what he needed. Rose had always made great tea whenever they both tired and ready to put their aching feet up and relax. Rose wasn't there now; every time he realized that it was like a punch in the gut; winding him and making his eyes sting and water.

"Doctor?" Martha was giving him that look again; she becoming quite an expert with it. "You told the Daleks the Gamma burst went through you first; what did you mean?"

"Oh? Did I?" the glare she gave him clearly stated that she wasn't going to fall for feigned innocence either.

"You know you did." She sat down on the park bench and crossed her arms. "And since it worked so well last time I'm not going anywhere until you explain."

The Doctor sighed and sat down beside her trying to find a position that didn't cause his aching body any additional discomfort. He finally settled for perching uncomfortably on the edge.

"Well?" Martha asked, her eyes challenging, daring him to lie or tell her anything but the whole truth.

"Well...I was between the Gamma burst and the Dalekanium when it struck, triggering a reaction in the Dalek's biological code when it was transfered to the humans thereby creating a reversed feed-back loop in the auditory..."

"You're telling me you were struck by lightning!"

_...To be Continued..._

**_Bye for now, please review!_**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hi! Sorry I haven't updated sooner; I'm a very lazy person and will only update on weekends or school holidays. Anyway, here is another chapter, please review! *Leaves cookies :D Yes, I'm bribing you!  
**_

_**Disclaimer; I'm not Steven Moffat, but apparently I am a Dalek ;) I don't own Doctor Who**_

"Well...technically it was a condensed burst of gamma radiation...but the effect is essentially the same."

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

Martha was upset; that was obvious, but really shouting was a bit of an overreaction, it wasn't as if he'd died. The Doctor preferred not to think about how close he had actually come to dying. If he had died what would have happened to Martha? Would she simply have been trapped in the past or would the Daleks...but it hadn't happened; that was the important thing to remember.

Martha was safe; Martha was still sitting beside him, not like Rose, Rose who had been swept away by the universe with him powerless to help.

The Doctor sighed and got to his feet. "Come on Martha Jones, it's time for me to take you home."

* * *

Martha wasn't sure what to do. The Doctor seemed fine, he was certainly thinking clearly enough to remember he was taking her home, but she was still worried. Maybe she had imagined the stiffness in his movements and the pain and exhaustion in his eyes; then again, maybe she hadn't.

She followed him back through Central Park without speaking; the Doctor kept giving her guilty sideways glances, like he was expecting her to raise a fuss about being taken home. Martha was desperately trying to find some way of convincing the Doctor not to send her home , some way of convincing him he needed her, but she wasn't going to say anything until she was certain it would be enough.

The Doctor fumbled for his key when they reached the Tardis then he paused and gave Martha a long, serious look. "Martha, I'm sorry, I know this is-I shouldn't have...Oh, never mind."

Martha stared after him as he disappeared into the Tardis.

* * *

"Martha! Come on, I'm taking us back into the Vortex!" The Doctor knew he didn't have much time. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally and though he didn't usually sleep this was one of the few times when he would have to. He preferred to be safe in the Time Vortex when that happened.

Martha poked her head around the door. "Are you sure you should be flying?"

The Doctor would have rolled his eyes if his head didn't feel like it was about to explode. "Probably not," he admitted. "I'll take off, then put her on auto-pilot for a few hours so we can get some sleep."

Martha looked skeptical, but she entered the Tardis and closed the door behind her. The Doctor gave as bright a grin as he could manage and set about dematerializing the Tardis. When they were safely in the vortex he sighed and relaxed marginally.

"Right then, 'night Martha."

She smiled, picked up a book and settled down in his chair. "Good night Doctor."

The Doctor stumbled off to find his room, and hopefully not his nightmares.

* * *

Martha was beyond concerned no, in fact, it was safe to say she was on the verge of panic. Something was very wrong with the Tardis, and the Doctor wouldn't wake up. She shook his shoulder frantically, but only succeeded in pushing him off his bed onto the floor.

"Come on, Doctor! I need you!" the Tardis shuddered around her and she was very glad they were in the Time Vortex where there was nothing to crash into...at least, she hoped there was nothing to crash into.

Finally giving up on waking the Doctor she ran back to the Control Room, desperately hoping there would to a big red button that said 'Emergency Landing', unfortunately there was not. There was, however, a nearly life sized semi transparent hologram of the Doctor flickering above the console.

"This is Emergency Protocol Five, if this program has activated I'm either dead, really hope I didn't trip over a brick, or, I'm currently unavailable. The Tardis is programed to take you home. Rose, I just want you to remember, no matter what happened or what is about to happen, I chose you, Rose Tyler, and you were truly brilliant!" He smiled then, like Martha had never seen her Doctor smile, it was a real smile, so bright that it nearly dispelled the darkness in his eyes. Than the hologram flickered out of existence and Martha was left staring at the console in shock.

_Rose Tyler. _The way he said her name! His voice caressing every syllable, lingering over every sound. It was then Martha realized the truth. He had a friend, Rose Tyler, he lost her. _He loved her; he lost her. _

Martha stood alone in the trembling, shuddering Tardis, and felt a silent tear roll down her cheek as she thought of everything the Doctor had lost. Was it any wonder his eyes were so sad?

* * *

The Doctor was dreaming. Dreaming of apple grass and sunlight and a smiling blonde girl who held his hand, and together they ran through the universe, inseparable. The Doctor smiled in his sleep and his consciousness retreated farther into his dreams, sheltering from a world without Rose Tyler; reliving the love and happiness she had brought him, and completely unaware of the shuddering, crashing Tardis around him.

_**Sooo...Please don't kill me!**_

_**What did everyone think of the 50th Anniversary Special? You could always let me know by adding it to your review. Leaves more cookies...What are you talking about? Me Bribe you? Never!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**So, lazy person creeping in cautiously. I know I had school hols but I was lazy, and I left this chapter in my locker by mistake; for a week. UURRRGH! Anyway, back with more, and this is where we really go down the rabbit-hole of AU-ishness (AU-ishness? Really is that even a word? Anyway best my muddled brain can come up with) Sorry, I'm rambling, no one wants to read a rambly AN You also probably don't want to read me begging for reviews again, so, please, don't make me beg; just review.**_

_**Still not Moffat, never was, never will be, I'm just a random evil person who is obsessed with being horrid to wonderful characters. For the most part this occurs during the Lazarus Experiment.  
**_

The TARDIS landed with a crash that threw Martha forward onto the deck plating. She picked herself up, wincing, and wondered if the jolt had managed to wake the Doctor; probably not. If the TARDIS was on Earth maybe she could go find help, or maybe she was currently not safely landed and instead crashing into a gas giant; maybe she would suffocate as soon as the doors were opened. She opened the doors.

* * *

The rough landing _had _woken the Doctor. He could sleep through a nuclear bomb blast if he was tired enough, but the TARDIS landing nearly always woke him. He wondered vaguely why he was laying on the floor in such a completely uncomfortable position, but at least the crushing headache was gone; for now. Still something was wrong; there was something he was missing.

"Martha!" That was it! They shouldn't have landed yet, the TARDIS was supposed to still be safely in the Time-Vortex and landing without navigation meant they could be anywhere in the Universe; unless, Emergency Protocol Five had activated.

The Doctor scrambled to his feet and ran. There was no sign of Martha in the Control Room and the outer door was partly open. _Why does no one understand the concept of not wandering off?_ He pushed the doors open the rest of the way and stepped out into the sunlight of the one place he most definitely did not want to be; Earth, London, The Powell Estate.

_Not here, please, not here, not yet. _He wasn't ready to face this place yet; maybe he never would be.

The Estate hadn't changed; still the same graffiti and half drunk teenagers hanging around, and yes, when the TARDIS had landed it had managed to knock the trash bins over. He smiled, half expecting Jackie to come storming out, shouting at him about 'litterin' the place' and 'where the 'ell 'ad they been this time'; then Rose would step out of the TARDIS, and Jackie would forget all about him and her overturned bins. But Jackie was gone and so was Rose and neither one of them could ever come back.

"Doctor!" It was Martha, not the voice he wanted to hear calling him.

The crushing pressure in his chest was back, slowly suffocating him, but he forced a smile for Martha. She was a good person and she could do him good if he'd let her, but he wasn't ready for that either; he didn't want anyone to replace Rose.

"Doctor you're awake!"

"Martha Jones! Didn't anyone ever teach you not to wander off?"

She studied him critically for a moment until she seemed satisfied he wasn't going to collapse in front of her. "So, where are we?"

The Doctor slipped his shaking hands into his jacket pockets. _Somewhere I never want to come again. _But he couldn't tell her that. "It doesn't matter; just a memory; come on."

* * *

The Doctor landed the TARDIS in Martha's bedroom.

"So, here we are, twelve hours after you left." He glanced around the flat; it was small and more than a little untidy, but it was a home; it was something the Doctor could never have.

Martha smiled, but the Doctor could see this was the last place she wanted to be. "Great." She wandered into the next room and he heard the answering machine beep followed by an indistinct voice.

"Doctor, turn on the TV!" she sounded annoyed.

He didn't bother looking for the remote; instead turning it on with a flick of the Sonic Screwdriver. It was a news program showing an old scientist discussing his latest project.

"And tonight," he was saying, "I'm going to change what it means to be human." The Doctor frowned at the TV screen; something was very very not good about that sentence.

Martha stuck her head around the door. "That's Tish; that's my sister!" she motioned towards a young woman the Doctor hadn't noticed before. She was standing in the background looking nervous and slightly out of place; probably the scientist's assistant.

Then the significance of the words finally got through to him. "Did he say he's going to change what it means to be human?"

* * *

Martha ran; she grabbed Tish's hand and pulled her sister after her up the seemingly endless staircase that led up to the bell tower.

"Do you trust him?" Tish panted. "Do you trust the Doctor? I mean, who is he?"

Martha glanced over the railing down into the main cathedral, but the Doctor was no where is sight. "I really don't know," she confessed, "I mean, I don't really know who he is, but I trust him, with my life." _And yours, _she added silently.

The snarls behind them were growing louder; apparently the creature who had once been Dr. Lazarus was catching up to them and Martha could feel her own steps slowing with exhaustion. Then the creature appeared behind them and started swinging his tail at them; trying to knock them over the railing.

Organ music began to drift upwards into the bell tower and Martha felt a surge of admiration. Was there anything that wonderful, impossible man couldn't do? Except, whatever the Doctor's plan was the organ music didn't seem to be adversely affecting Lazarus.

Then someone screamed and it took Martha a moment to realize that it was her. Lazarus' tail struck her in the side and she fell, tumbling over the railing and only just managing to grab hold of it before she plummeted to her death.

_Doctor, please, I don't want to die! _As if in answer to her silent plea the organ music swelled, growing louder, and Lazarus snarled. The music echoed off the stone walls; the bell tower amplifying the strong chords, Lazarus threw back his head and howled, his hideous face distorted in pain and fury. Then he began to fall.

Martha held on for dear life as Lazarus tumbled past her and struck the marble floor far below with a sickening thud.

Tish's terrified face appeared above her as she leaned over the railing to pull her sister up.

* * *

The Doctor knelt beside Dr. Lazarus; he was human again, his body pale and fragile and as the Doctor watched his youthful features aged rapidly. He was dead, and this time he wasn't coming back. He was one more dead body; one more person the Doctor had failed to save.

He sighed heavily and looked up into the bell tower where Tish and Martha were waving at him from the balcony. He _did _save them.

Martha met him at the stairs and threw her arms around him. She was shaking and laughing at the same time and the Doctor found he was laughing too; laughing to keep from burying his face in her shoulder and sobbing and never stopping.

* * *

When the TARDIS landed in her bedroom again Martha knew this was it; the Doctor had brought her home and now he was leaving.

"Doctor, I want to come with you." She couldn't let him go alone, maybe she wasn't who he wanted, but surely she was better than being alone.

"Martha-" the Doctor ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up even more than usual. With difficulty Martha resisted the urge to reach out and smooth it down.

"No, listen to me!"

"Martha, you almost died tonight! I can't put you in danger like that, you have family, you have a life, and I refuse to take that away from you!"

"I know you lost Rose, and I know she was important to you, but look here, mister, what I want to do with my life isn't your decision to make, and I want to come with you. What you do is so important, you save people; you help people when they have no hope and you give them hope, and I want to be a part of that!"

"I don't save people," his voice was dull, expressionless, and Martha was afraid to look into his eyes; afraid of the pain she would see there. "I don't help; so many people have died because of me and I am not adding you to that list."

Was that really what he believed? He'd saved her; everyone in the hospital on the moon; half the Earth, and so, so many others she didn't know about. Surely he had to know! And if he didn't she had to tell him, but instead she just stood watching him walk away, unable to find the words that would make him stay.

_**Whew! Longest chapter I've ever written! Martha will be back, eventually, I'm not letting her character go that easily!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Here I am again! This chapter is really, really AU, so enjoy.**_

When the Doctor stepped out of the Tardis he was met with blinding heat and two grimy, probably humans, shouting at him to close the compartment he landed in. Apparently, he'd landed in an overheating vent chamber; not good, really, very not good. He was on a ship; a ship with non-functioning engines; a ship where something was very, very wrong.

"Activate secure closure; seal all doors." The Doctor frowned; he'd gone and done it again, flown into the middle of a big stinking problem.

A third member of the crew was running toward them; she ducked under the door, just as it slammed shut and sealed them in. "The ship's gone mad!" She skidded to a stop in front of them and stared in surprise at the Doctor. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm the Doctor. Hello!" but apparently even his most charming smile wasn't going to work on these people; something had them frightened.

"Impact projection; forty-two minutes, twenty-seven seconds." _Computers_, the Doctor thought irritably, _helpfully informing you when you're going to die._

The woman who had shouted at him to close the door seemed to be in charge and she turned to her crew, "We will get out of this, I promise."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at that; she was calm and confident, the model of a good captain remaining calm under pressure, so why did he get the feeling she was hiding something?

"Forty-two minutes until we crash into what?" No one seemed to want to answer him, so he ran to a hatch and peered through the transparent panel, eyes widening at what he saw. The captain moved to stand beside him.

"Forty-two minutes until we crash into the sun."

* * *

Energy scoops! He was beginning to understand; the crew was nervous, their ship was running on illegal fuel, and now they were crashing into a sun. That couldn't be a coincidence, the pieces had to fit together but how?

If he could save them...they were far from innocent, but they were human and they were frightened. If he could help them maybe he could start to believe in himself again; maybe he would feel like the Doctor. The man who helped and not the man who destroyed.

"Right then, you," he motioned at the crew member who had identified himself as Riley. "We need to get those doors open; I assume there's an override?"

Riley glanced at the captain and she nodded. "It's manual; a two person job."

"Then take someone with you, just get those doors open! We need to be able to move! Off you go," he waved Riley away trying not to be annoyed at how easily these people would have given up before they'd even tried.

"McDonell, it's Ashton," the intercom buzzed and crackled; their proximity to the sun was interfering with radio signals. "Korwin's gone mad! Get up to the medcentre now!"

* * *

Korwin was Captain McDonell's husband, and he was burning inside as a more powerful consciousness pushed him aside, taking control. The Doctor couldn't stop it; couldn't save him, couldn't save Abi, the nurse, before Korwin burned her; he was failing, once again he was failing.

_It's all gone wrong; it's all wrong, Rose, and I don't know how to stop it! I wish you were here, because you'd know how to help me; you always knew. _He blamed the heat for the moisture he felt running down his face.

* * *

He was moments too late to stop Ashton. The engineer was mad, and the Doctor was too late to stop him. Now Riley and girl whose name he didn't know were stuck in an escape pod; free-falling towards the sun, because of him.

He slammed his fist against the hatch. _This isn't how it's meant to be be! This isn't right!_

"I'll save you!" he shouted, knowing Riley wouldn't hear him but hoping his meaning was clear. "I'll save you!" if he didn't Riley's eyes, wide and terrified would join the multitude of others who haunted him, a reminder of how many he failed to save. Eyes and faces that would haunt him for the rest of his lives. He would do anything to save them; anything.

* * *

He'd done it; the pod was re-magnetized; was being pulled back to the ship, but the triumph he felt didn't last long. The Doctor stared into the sun and felt it; felt its life burning and pulsing. Agony, anguish and desperation that were not his own raced through him and the sun moaned; its life force shuddering and screaming in agony.

The Doctor stared into its burning consciousness and felt everything; felt the life, felt it fading, and collapsed as shared agony tore through him.

_You're heart is like mine, _its voice whispered through his mind reaching into the deepest shadows feeling and sharing his pain as he shared its. _You're heart was stolen; so much pain, so much emptiness. We are the same, you understand. Help me! Lonely traveler, help me!_

The sun was alive! And the ship's crew had stole its heart for fuel; had ripped away everything and left it to die and they didn't care!

He felt Riley's hand on his shoulder, heard his voice calling out in concern, and felt rage sweep through him; this was not the sun's rage, it was his own. The sun was still there, in his mind, he could feel it pressing in on him, but it wasn't burning, wasn't roaring; it was weeping. A creature in so much pain; a creature he understood completely.

"Stay away from me!' he shook off Riley's hands and turned on Captain McDonell as she ran towards them. "This is your fault! You mined that sun; scooped out its heart for cheap fuel! You should have scanned for life! You should have checked; it's alive, Captain McDonell, that sun is alive, a living organism, you scooped out its heart and now its screaming! Can't you hear it? Can't you feel it? You're killing it and you don't even care!"

McDonell stared at him, here eyes widening in horror. "What do you mean? It can't be!"

The Doctor staggered to his feet the sun's agony nearly blinding him. "I know because it's living in me, and Korwin, and Ashton!"

"But how can a sun be alive? Why are you saying that?" She froze when he looked at her, when he stared into her eyes, willing her to feel it, willing her to understand. "Oh my God! What have I done!"

"Captain!" Scanell's voice shouted through the intercom. "We've done it; the doors are open but the engines won't start! What do we do, captain, what do we do?" then the intercom spluttered and cut out. They were too close to the sun and all radio signals were dead.

The sun screamed louder and louder and the Doctor collapsed groaning. So much pain; so much! Burning, burning, burning!

"Dump the fuel!" he gasped. "Give back what you took!"

McDonell stared at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't know!" Then she ran.

"Riley!" the Doctor was fighting the sun's agony; it didn't want to harm anyone, it only wanted what had been taken, but it was screaming, losing control, burning him. "You have to give it back or you'll burn! Everyone will burn!"

The end was coming; the sun was dying and the Doctor with it...the the screaming stopped, the pain faded and the sun glowed and pulsed with joy. _Thank you, lonely Doctor, thank you._ Then it released him.

The Doctor lay gasping on the slowly cooling deck plating and felt the sun pull itself from his consciousness, felt it release Korwin and Ashton. He closed his eyes and smiled; not everyone has to die, not always.

"Impact averted, impact averted," computers may be good at saying when you were going to die but they were also very good at telling you when you were going to live.

* * *

"This is never your ship?" Riley was staring at the Tardis in utter confusion and the Doctor smiled tiredly.

"Compact, isn't she." He ran a loving hand over the door. "And another word, robust, barely a scorch mark on her." He directed his attention to Captain McDonell who was standing with her arm around a still slightly dazed Korwin.

"I'll be off then; when the authorities turn up, tell them that sun needs care and protection just like any other living thing." He unlocked the Tardis and stepped inside.

"Doctor!" McDonell called after him, he stuck his head out of the door to find her smiling at him with her head on her husband's shoulder. "I just wanted to say thank you; the sun's wasn't the only heart you gave back."

The Doctor smiled; that was he loved about the human race, for all their faults they had such a capacity to love. He closed the Tardis door and felt the sun reach a single glowing tendril of thought towards him.

_Find her, find your heart, lonely traveler. _Then it was gone and the Doctor brushed away a tear. If only it were that easy.

_**There you have it! Please review!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Yes, I skipped Human Nature and The Family of Blood and Blink because they were taking too long to write. And for Utopia I am replacing Martha with Jack as the Doctor's companion, because, face it JACK IS AWESOME! AND PLAYED BY JOHN FREAKIN' BARROWMAN! And did I mention; JACK IS AWESOME! Anyway, crazy fan girl moment is on hold, for now, and here's the chapter! Review…Review…Review…Daleks love reviews…**_

Jack ran; ahead of him he saw the blue Police Box begin to fade from existence. "Doctor!" he jumped his momentum sending him crashing into the TARDIS as it dematerialized. He felt the Time Vortex rush around him; crushing the air from his lungs, his blood slowly freezing in his veins as he shouted for the Doctor and clung to the TARDIS as blackness engulfed him.

Jack woke, gasping for air, to find the Doctor looking down at him, at least; it had to be the Doctor, but his face was not the one Jack remembered. This Doctor was younger; much better looking, and, judging from the long coat, he also had a much better sense of fashion.

"Hello again." The Doctor slipped his hands into his pockets and watched as Jack scrambled to his feet and brushed the dirt from his coat.

"Hello," Jack grinned at the expression, somewhere between amusement and annoyance, on the Doctor's face.

"Oh, don't start!"

"I was only saying hello. Doctor,"

"Captain." Jack frowned. Something was wrong; maybe he hadn't been quite right when he thought the Doctor looked younger. His face was younger, but his eyes were so much older. He was older; older and nearly defeated. Still, regardless of what the Doctor had been through Jack needed to know why he'd been left, alone, ankle deep in Dalek dust, and more frightened than he would ever admit, on Satellite Five.

"You abandoned me." Jack's voice held no accusation but the Doctor still shuffled his feet uncomfortably. Jack should be accusatory; he'd been abandoned.

"Yes, well, I was busy; things to do. You know how it is,"_ and I was afraid, because something's very wrong with you, Jack._ The Doctor ran a shaking hand through his hair and tried to ignore the TARDIS' frantic hum in the back of his mind. The TARDIS felt the difference in Jack too. She had reacted so violently to his presence that she flew them to the end of the universe trying to get rid of him.

The Doctor was surprised when Jack didn't question him further, but he knew what was coming next. Jack was going to ask and what could he say?

"I have to ask; The Battle of Canary Wharf, on the list of the dead; it said Rose Tyler." Jack was watching the Doctor intently for his reaction. His eyes begging the Doctor to tell him Rose wasn't dead; to tell him Rose was safe.

The Doctor forced a smile. There was no reason to give Jack the details; let him believe that Rose was safe and happy, and, for all the Doctor knew she could be. "Oh no, she's fine! Parallel world; Mickey and Jackie too!"

The Doctor really did smile at the look of complete relief on Jack's face. The Doctor could not bear to even consider Jack's brilliant smile fading as he found out that Rose wasn't just in a parallel world, she was trapped there, forever.

Still, happy as the Doctor was to see a familiar, friendly face just being near Jack made his skin crawl. Jack was wrong; he shouldn't have existed, he should have died on Satellite Five, his body lying beside the others who had fallen to the Daleks murderous assault. One more grave on the Doctor's conscience. But, here he was; a mistake, a wonderful, brilliant, human mistake; a fixed point, someone who shouldn't exist.

Jack was watching him intently and the Doctor looked hurriedly up at the sky; anything to avoid Jack's questioning gaze. Maybe he could gauge their position by the stars, but there were no stars. The inky blackness of the sky stretched above him; cold and empty as time ran out for the universe.

"You're different, Doc." The Doctor knew Jack was still watching him but rather than meet Jack's eyes he suddenly became very interested in rummaging through his pockets.

"Oh! You mean the face! I Regenerated." He knew full well that wasn't what Jack meant, but maybe, if he was lucky it would distract the American for a few minutes.

"I thought Regeneration was a myth." He could hear the frown in Jack's voice and tried not to hiss with annoyance, apparently he wasn't lucky. "But we both know that's not what I meant. What happened, Doc?"

Major distraction time. "So!" he produced the Sonic Screwdriver with a flourish and began scanning the forbidding landscape. "End of the Universe, and I'm detecting a power signature. Come on! Allons-y Captain Jack Harkness!"

End of the universe; fun! Running for your life with the cannibalistic future of the human race chasing you; who'd miss it? Being electrocuted and dying, again? Jack really didn't think that was in the job description. And now the Doctor expected him to enter a room filled with deadly radiation and release a bunch of clamps so a rocket full of humans could reach Utopia. Jack really didn't have a problem with that. What he did have a problem with was the fact the Doctor was trying to small talk about his emotional state.

"Do you want to die?" Well what the hell kind of question was that? He couldn't die! Apparently because Rose had accidentally brought him back to life forever, and now she was trapped forever in a parallel world. But never mind about what that must be doing to the Doctor. He wanted to talk about Jack's problems!

He avoided answering by pretending to struggle with the next clamp. "This one's kinda stuck!"

The Doctor tapped his forehead against the glass. "Jaack…do you want to die?"

"I thought I did, but now…I don't know; this lot, you see them out here surviving, and that's fantastic." The last clamp released with a puff of air and Jack breathed out a relieved sigh.

The Doctor hurried to a device that looked like an old Earth telephone and stared dialing. Jack heard him talking to the Lieutenant but he wasn't really paying attention. He hadn't really thought about the fact he had the Doctor's hand in his backpack until now; that was how he'd found the Doctor, but now, somehow it seemed important.

There was a strange feeling, like an itch in the back of his mind; a voice he couldn't quite hear. "Doc,"

The Doctor waved an impatient hand at him. "Not now; busy!" he was flipping switches wildly and muttering in an undertone.

"Doc! Something's wrong!" the itch in his mind became a pressure a multitude of voices whispering warnings he couldn't quite make out.

"And…Liftoff!" The Doctor shouted obviously delighted.

"Doctor!" Jack shouted struggling to push back the voices; the voices that were now shouting the same warning.

The Doctor turned to him at last, concern spreading across his face. "Jack?"

Jack dropped to his knees the pressure in his head intolerable; and heard words that were not his own forced from his lips. "You…are…not…alone!"

The Doctor stared at him; his eyes wide then slowly his gaze shifted to the computer screen still transmitting static. The professor's across the screen in bold letters; YANA.

For a long moment the Doctor stared at the screen; his eyes wide as realization dawned on him; then he grabbed Jack's arm pulling him to his feet sharply.

Jack gasped air and awareness rushing back into him as the voices receded suddenly their warning delivered. The Doctor kept hold of his arm and shouted; "RUN!" and they ran, though Jack wasn't quite sure why.

The laboratory door slammed shut in front of them and the Doctor mutter a few choice words in Gallifreyan. "Jack! Override the door controls! Professor! Professor! Let me in! Jack get this door open!"

Jack's hands flew across the control panel but the Doctor didn't pay much attention. It couldn't be! You could he not have sensed the presence of another Time Lord? Especially this Time Lord? But he sensed it now and it terrified him. _No! Please, no! Anyone but him!_

"Open the door! Please, I'm begging you!" The sound of a shot echoes faintly through the door. The Doctor is frantic now pounding wildly on the door which suddenly slides open. He runs into the laboratory just in time to see Yana disappear into the TARDIS and slam the door.

The Doctor tried the TARDIS' lock frantically but Yana had locked it from the other side. "Let me in! Everything's changed! We're the only two left! Please…" The Doctor is barely aware of his words barely aware he's begging his greatest enemy to let him.

"Doctor help me! I broke the lock!" Jack is shouting at him trying to get his attention, but all the Doctor can do is stand frozen and staring as a golden glow filters through the TARDIS windows.

"Please…" he pauses the word forming on his tongue distasteful to him. "Master."

A new voice, young and strong blares from the TARDIS. "Well tough!" End of the Universe, have fun. Bye!"

Nothing he can do; nothing except…as the TARDIS dematerializes he points the Sonic Screwdriver at it. One last hope to stop the Master, and if it wasn't enough…the universe would burn.

"Doctor! Help me the future kind are getting!" Jack's voice is desperate and the Doctor turns as if in a daze.

"Let them; it doesn't matter now." He barely recognizes the sound of his voice; it's empty, hollow, uncaring and Jack stares at him like he's a stranger. Maybe he is. Maybe this is what he's become; empty and broken.

_**It's fine to hate me for the cliffy, but please review anyway! Back soon; maybe…**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**I'm back! So bit of clarification about the end of the last chapter coming up right away. I know the POV and tense got a bit wonky at the end of the last chapter, but it was intentional and for a very good reason! Also, in case you don't know I'm not Moffat!**_

_Previously…_  
_"Doctor! Help me the future kind are getting!" Jack's voice is desperate and the Doctor turns as if in a daze._  
_"Let them; it doesn't matter now." He barely recognizes the sound of his voice; it's empty, hollow, uncaring and Jack stares at him like he's a stranger. Maybe he is. Maybe this is what he's become; empty and broken._

_And now…_Jack stared at the Doctor in shock; this couldn't be happening! The Doctor's eyes were unfocused, staring through him like he wasn't there. "Doctor! Come on! Snap out of it!" Apparently shouting wasn't going to work either.

Jack stumbled as the future kind pounded against the door; he wasn't going to be able to hold them off much longer. Well, damn, this really wouldn't look good on his gravestone; Captain Jack Harkness, eaten by a future version of the human race because the Last of the Time Lords was a bit zoned out. No freaking way.

He wedged his foot against the door the best he could and muttered a quick apology. "Sorry, Doc, this is gonna hurt and I really hope it works!" Then he punched the Doctor, square in the face and as hard as he could.

The Doctor's head snapped back and he hit the floor with a thud. He lay stunned for a moment and Jack wondered if he'd hit him a bit too hard; then he groaned and rubbed a hand across his jaw.

"Ow, my head! Remind me never to make you cross!" he staggered to his feet and blinked dazedly at Jack, but at least his eyes were clear.

Jack put his shoulder back against the door just as the futurekind struck it particularly viciously. "Don't mean to be rude but can we chat later!" Jack panted fighting to hold the door shut.

"Right, sorry!" the Doctor pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver and started fumbling with the Vortex Manipulator on Jack's wrist. "Hold still!" he growled impatiently as Jack's arm jerked instinctively as the door behind him shuddered.

"It's broken!" Jack tried not to roll his eyes. Of all the times for the Doctor to not be paying attention. "It hasn't worked for years!"

The Doctor held the Sonic between his teeth as he pressed buttons on the Manipulator frantically. "Tha's becuz you didn 'ave me," he mumbled around the Screwdriver. Adding slightly more clearly. "Hold on!"

"To what!" Then they dropped like stones into the middle of a perfectly ordinary London alleyway. **  
**

* * *

"So, what happened back there?" Jack's trying to be calm, the Doctor can hear it in his voice, but he's angry and he has every right to be. "You kinda zoned out on me, Doc. I thought you were going to stand there and let us die."

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair. His memories of the last few minutes they spent in Yana's laboratory were jumbled at best, but he did remember a floating sensation, almost as if he hadn't been in control of his own body; at least not completely. He'd had the presence of mind to lock the TARDIS' coordinates but he should have done more; could have done more if he'd been in control.

"Doc?" Jack questioned again, looking slightly concerned.

"Sorry, right, I was going to explain. Yana was a Time Lord, well, he's not called Yana, he's called the Master. Anyway, Time Lord, psychotic murderous Time Lord; I don't know how he managed to escape the Time War..." the Doctor was rambling but he needed time to gather his thoughts time to figure out what had happened. So he let his mouth talk while his mind considered all the possibilities hoping the two of them would somehow come together coherently. "But he's back now and it's bad news for us since he has the TARDIS. Oh!" he broke off suddenly understanding. "Oh! I'm thick!" his slapped his forehead in irritation.

"The Master was always a bit hypnotic, but he shouldn't have been able to get into my head, if he did that would explain...Jack, do you trust me?"

Jack stared at him like he'd gone insane; maybe he had. Then Jack nodded sharply. "I trust you."

"Brilliant! Fantastic! Molto bene!" The Doctor looked around the crowded London street and realized they were beginning to get puzzled stares from the passers-by. "We need to go somewhere a little less crowded."

* * *

Jack followed the Doctor without question; he trusted the Doctor, still, that didn't mean the Doctor wasn't entirely crazy. They ducked into an alley-way and the Doctor pulled out the Sonic to start scanning. Jack watched him in disbelief. He couldn't believe that barely half an hour before the Doctor had been empty; his eyes cold and his voice so broken. Now he was bursting with energy, racing around and babbling nonsense like everything was fine.

"Ya know, Doc, I'm not really counting what you said on the street as an explanation..."

"Hmm?" the Doctor was currently very interested in rummaging through the contents of a large dumpster. "Oh, Time Lords are slightly psychic, didn't I tell you? No? Anyway the Master was always a little hypnotic and his natural power must have been amplified by the TARDIS. He couldn't get into my mind but he did have enough control to make me forget who I was." The Doctor rubbed a hand across the light bruise on his jaw. "At least until you snapped me out of it. Thanks for that by the way." He went back to rummaging through the trash like this was an everyday occurrence.

The day Jack Harkness stopped being amazed by the Doctor would be the day he died; permanently. Suddenly the doctor straightened reached into his pocket and pulled out his glasses looking at Jack intently.

"Wait! Oh, yes, wait no, yes! I'm thick! I'm so thick! What you said in the silo; 'You are not alone' how did you know to say that? How did you find me in the first place. I was just stopping off for a quick fuel up at the rift; I've done it a dozen times!"

It took Jack a minute to catch up with what the Doctor was saying and when he did he frowned. "I told you I had a Doctor detector." He reached into his knapsack and pulled out the jar with the Doctor's hand in it. The liquid bubbled excitedly as if excited by the Doctor's presence.

"That's my hand!" The Doctor stared at it in amazement before slipping on his glasses and examining it more closely. "I lost that hand Christmas Day in a swordfight! You should have seen Rose's face when I-" he froze his eyes slightly unfocused again, then he seemed to shake off the memory. "Oh, that's brilliant! You used my old hand to detect my presence! Still doesn't explain what you said in the silo."

Jack shrugged, preferring not to think about the unsettling feeling that had come over him. "I dunno, I just felt this sort of pressure; then there were voices, whispering then shouting. I couldn't help saying it. Is it important?"

The Doctor frowned at him for a long moment then turned away scratching his ear absentmindedly. "I shouldn't think so. It was probably just a side effect of the Master's arrival. Humans are bound together by a low level telepathic field and since you've been around for hundreds of years," he shrugged. "Maybe you evolved? No never mind! That's rubbish! Have you got a mobile?"

Jack nodded slightly dazed and pulled out his mobile the Doctor took it and immediately ripped open the back and started zapping it with the Sonic Screwdriver. "Oh, hello!" The Doctor stared at the mobile in surprise. "What's Archangel?"

"It's a mobile phone network, everyone's got it. It's operated by fifteen satellites in a low Earth orbit."

The Doctor peered at Jack over the top of his glasses. "Who launched it?"

"Harold Saxon, he's running for Prime Minister, I was going to vote for him..." Jack froze, his mouth half open. _'Bye!'_ The Master's voice had sounded familiar to him but he'd been a bit distracted. Now that he thought about it though. "Doc, you said the Master was here, right? And he could be anyone?"

Before Jack could finish a horribly familiar voice blared from the speakers. "This country has been sick. This country needs healing. This country needs fact, I'd go so far as to say that what this country really needs right now, is a Doctor."

The Doctor stared at Jack and Jack stared back. The Master was Prime Minister of Britain.

* * *

Jack's mobile rang and the Doctor answered it without even thinking.

"Hello, Doctor. Did you like my message?" the Doctor froze.

"Master?"

"Oh, I do love it when you say my name! Anyway, no time for chit chat! I have a little surprise for you; Earth while soon become home to an alien race, called the Toclafane!" He laughed shrilly into the Doctor's ear.

The Doctor frowned. The Master had always been off his rocker but this was crazy even for him. "The Toclafane! They don't exist! They're a story made up to frighten children; like the bogeyman!" The Doctor hoped his disgust was evident in his voice.

"Oh?" The Master's voice was almost a purr. "They're real! More to the point, though Doctor, I have a little surprise for you! You see, you've been careless! There are people on earth you care about people who know you; you've left traces and you really should know better."

"What have you done?!" Jack looked at him in concern as he shouted into the phone.

"You remember dear old Sarah-Jane don't you? And the lovely Martha Jones?"

"Don't touch them!" The Doctor was frantic. "Tell me what you want! Just don't hurt them!" Jack stepped closer and the doctor held out mobile so Jack could hear the Master too.

"Oh, poor Doctor, don't you see? This is what I want; I want to destroy you Doctor! I want to see you scream as everything you love is torn from you! Now run Doctor! Run to save them, but I should warn you, I control everything now! You can't hide, you can't escape! Now run! RUN!"

The Doctor threw Jack's mobile across the alley-way and ran Jack hard on his heels.

**_Hehehehe...Will the doctor get to Sarah-Jane and Martha in time? And without the doctor's hand how will the Master get the Doctor's bio-print? Next chapter will be posted soon and you will find out. in the meantime how about some nice reviews? Pretty please? After all, I updated twice today._**


	8. Chapter 8

_Never doubted him; never will. Never doubted him; never will. Never doubted him…_The words had circled through Jack's thoughts so often that repeating them in

his mind became a nearly unconscious action. I'll never doubt him; if the Doctor says he has a plan then he does and it will work. The strength of his belief that

kept him moving; kept him fighting as he traversed the blasted wasteland which had once been his home. Which had once been the Earth.

_Three-hundred and sixty days previously…_

Jack and the Doctor were running. They'd been running since the Doctor's conversation with the Master and Jack had absolutely no idea where they were

going. The Doctor had not spoken since he threw Jack's mobile across an alleyway and called three words Jack assumed were names over his shoulder.

Martha. Sarah-Jane.

"Doc," Jack panted, trying to keep up with the frantic Time-Lord. "Who are Martha and Sarah-Jane?" But the Doctor didn't answer; instead slowing his steps to

a walk. Apparently he had reached their destination.

* * *

The Doctor couldn't force himself to consider the situation logically. He'd been responsible for too many deaths; too much loss, he couldn't add Martha and

Sarah-Jane to the list of those he'd failed to save.

He slowed his steps at the end of Martha's street, vaguely aware that Jack, ever faithful, was still close behind him.

"Doc, what-"Jack began, sounding breatheless, but the Doctor held up a hand to silence him; his mind frantically scrabbling to come up with an explanation for

the scene before him. There was only one explanation; he was too late.

The street was bustling with activity; soldiers were forming a perimeter and unmarked black vans were waiting; their doors open expectantly. Neighbors

watched in frightened fascination from behind half pulled drapes as two soldiers half dragged a struggling Martha toward one of the vans.

Martha turned her head as if sensing his presence and her wide, terrified eyes fixed on the Doctor; he stared back at her for a moment that seemed to last an

eternity. There was fear in her eyes, and anger, but deeper, underlying all other emotions was an all consuming guilt. In her guilt the Doctor saw the truth;

Martha had betrayed him. He had abandoned her after offering her the universe and she'd repaid him with betrayal. But what else could he expect? What else

did he deserve?

The soldiers turned; shouting when they saw the Doctor and Jack. Guns were raised, orders were shouted, but the Doctor just stood staring in bleak

desperation at Martha as she was forced into one of the vans. She managed to turn toward him again and her mouth formed a single, desperate word; her

eyes pleading. Her voice was lost in the clamor of the soldiers but the Doctor recognized the shape of the word on her lips. Run! Run! She was telling him to

run, but he was frozen in place; not with fear but with guilt. If he stepped forward; if he offered himself in Martha's place…wasn't that what the Master

wanted? The Doctor to give himself up?

Almost without volition he took a step forward; then a hand gripped his arm and Jack was pulling him back to reality. He shook his head, trying to focus on

something, anything but the fact that the Master had Martha.

"Come on, Doc!" Jack shouted next to his ear. "You won't do your friend any good by being shot!"

Then in flash it came to him. Sarah-Jane! Maybe there was still time. The Doctor allowed Jack to pull him away and again they ran.

_Present Day…_

Jack woke from in the shelter of an abandoned, partially collapsed warehouse. The sun was just rising of the blackened fields of France and he could see the

faint shimmer of the English channel in the distance. By midnight he would be in England again; he would that one step closer to the Doctor, closer to fulfilling

his plan. Jack could only hope the Doctor was still alive to carry out his part of the plan.

He turned his gaze towards the sky and for a moment he saw the Valiant, illuminated by the rising sun, and silently cursed the Master and all he stood for. He

believed in the Doctor; and maybe belief was all the Doctor needed.

_**Dalek here! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know it was short but the next chapter is really long and I had to split it hear or it would have been **_

_**five thousand words. Please leave me a review and tell me what you thought! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season **_

_**and a great new year! Until next time…**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Here we are! Another fairly long chapter; please enjoy!  
**_

_Present Day…_

He stirs; eyes blinking, straining to see through the darkness. There is nothing to be seen, there is nothing to think, nothing to feel except the screaming of a planet as it is ripped apart. Time is calling out in despair; the universe is crying in agony, and he feels every pulse, every shudder as this planet he has come to love so much is taken from him.

There is nothing left to him except this darkness; this cold, and the pain of those he loves. Nothing left of the man he had been what seemed like an eternity ago; he had been the Doctor, the man who helps people, now he had no power even to help himself. Earth was dying; the human race was screaming, begging for someone to save them and the Doctor was powerless to help. The Master was winning; the Master had won.

Their faces haunted him in the dark; those precious human beings, their lives extinguished in an instant; their eyes staring at him with empty accusation. _Why? Why didn't you save us? You promised, Doctor._

The Master laughs as the Doctor cries alone in the dark. Laughs because his enemy, the might Doctor has been defeated by his own hearts.

_Three-Hundred and Sixty-One Days Previously…_

They stole a car. The Doctor realized at the time it was not the most moral thing he'd ever done, but really; he'd once stolen a TARDIS. What difference would a car make? Six kilometers and nearly twenty broken traffic laws later the Doctor had calmed down enough to stop ignoring Jack's concerned questions.

"I'm always alright," he insisted for what must have been the fiftieth time. Jack crossed his arms and frowned at him from the passenger seat; obviously unconvinced.

"Those soldiers could have killed you." The Doctor kept his eyes on the road, refusing to see Jack's concern.

"They didn't; besides the Master wants me alive." _Probably._

"Ya know, Doc, if you hadn't thrown my phone away I could have called someone to help."

The Doctor gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. Jack was trying to help, he knew that, he also knew it didn't matter.

_Present Day…_

Jack waded through the last few feet of ice cold water and splashed his way onto the sandy shore. England, regardless of the circumstances it was good to be back; good to breathe in the cool salt scented air.

A young man was waiting for him halfway up the beach and if Jack hadn't been so exhausted he might have paid more attention to his appearance. As it was he merely nodded a welcome to the man and continued his trek through the wet sand.

"I'm Tom Milligan; you must be Jack Harkness." Tom was nearly running to catch up, obviously caught off guard by Jack's haste. "How long since you were last in England, sir?"

Jack threw back his head and took a deep breathe of the night air, shuddering as he remembered the past year. "Almost a year," he said in response to Tom's question.

"Are the stories true then?" Jack stopped and looked more closely at his companion. He was young, early twenties at the most and Jack couldn't help remembering a time when he'd been that young; that eager.

He smiled slightly at the thought. "What stories?"

Tom shrugged his cheeks reddening slightly. "They say you were the only person to make it out of Japan alive."

Remembered screams made Jack shiver; the screams of those who were still alive as they stumbled across the bodies of the dead and dying lying in the streets as the silver orbs descended in wave after wave. He shuddered again and was glad for the darkness that hid his expression.

"I nearly didn't." In fact, he had died, the Toclaphane only overlooking him because he was only a corpse among thousands.

Tom gave him a sidelong glance but did not press him further. They walked in silence for a few moments, but Tom was apparently incapable of extended silence.

"They also say you sailed the Atlantic and walked across America. You're a legend, Captain. 'Jack Harkness,' they say, 'he's gonna save the world.' Isn't it a bit late for that sir?"

Jack didn't respond immediately, instead concentrating on the rough sand beneath his feet. "I have a plan," he said at last, keeping his voice carefully neutral. "I need to see this Professor Docherty; can you get me there?"

Tom nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, of course, but why Professor Docherty? What's your plan?"

Jack smiled into the dark. It was good to be walking beside another human being; to be exquisitely aware of a living, warm body, eyes alive and sparkling so near by. He shook his head; there was no time for distraction. Jack was keenly aware that time was running out; for him, for the Doctor, and for the world.

"I'm sorry Tom, I can't tell you that; the more you know the more danger you'll be in."

Tom shrugged, unconcerned. "My truck's just ahead."

Jack raised an eyebrow in surprise. "How come you can drive? Don't the guards stop you?"

Tom grinned. "Medical staff. I used to be in pediatrics back in the old days, that gives me a few privileges. I can travel between labor camps to help out."

Jack laughed, laughed until he thought he would cry. It was absurd, it was insensible, but the thought of traveling with a doctor again helped to ease the knot of stress and exhaustion which had gripped him for the last year.

Tom smiled bewilderedly but didn't comment as the truck came into sight.

_Three-Hundred and Sixty-Two Days Previously…_

The door to Sarah-Jane's house had been forced open. Jack ran after the Doctor as he dashed through her destroyed hallway and through the wrecked rooms. He took the stairs two at a time and Jack followed, keeping his distance and watching as the Doctor finally wore himself out and sank to the floor next to a smashed vase.

Jack approached him cautiously, uncertain of what to do. "Doc?" he laid a hand on the Time Lord's shoulder.

The Doctor raised his head and his eyes met Jack's, cold, hard, and filled with rage. "No more! No more, Jack!"

And at that moment Jack would not have traded places with the Master for the entire universe.

The Doctor got to his feet with the swiftness of a striking snake. "TARDIS key; now!"

Jack fumbled in his pockets hurriedly, watching the Doctor with concern as he pulled the Sonic Screwdriver and put on his glasses. "Come on!" He held out his hand impatiently and Jack handed over his TARDIS key and retreated to a safe distance to watch the Doctor work.

Three minutes and half a smashed toaster later the Doctor handed Jack his TARDIS key back, this time on a string and with a jumble of wires attached to the back. Jack examined the strange contraption and wondered if the Doctor had finally lost it.

The Doctor in question rolled his eyes; obviously guessing what Jack was thinking. "It's a perception filter, made from your TARDIS key. The key's a little piece of the TARDIS and it has low level perception properties because the TARDIS is designed to blend in. Well," he grimaced, obviously realizing that a 1950's Police Box didn't exactly fit in to very many time zones. "Sort of. But now, with the Master's Archangel Network spreading a low level psychic field over the planet the perception abilities are enhanced. I welded the key into the network and," the Doctor waved his hands. "You can see me, yes?"

Jack blinked. "Yeah, you're standing in front of me."

The Doctor grinned like a maniac and pulled out his own TARDIS key which now adapted just as Jack's was and slipped the string over his neck. "What about now?"

Jack squinted at the place where the Doctor should have been. "That's weird! It's like I can see, but I don't want to see you."

The Doctor slipped the key off and his smile took on a slightly sinister quality. "With these we can walk right up to the Master and he won't see us coming. We're going to stoop him, Jack, and we're going to make everything right."

_I hope you're right, Doc. I really hope you're right._

_**There you go! Nice long chapter for you all! Hope you enjoyed! Until next time this is Dalek signing off. Please leave me a lovely review below.**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**AARGH! This is late! I'm sorry; I don't have any real excuse I'm just lazy! On a happier note thank you for the lovely reviewers; I'm very happy you are enjoying my story! This chapter is evil and very long; if you hate by the end of it I really can't blame you.**_

_Present Day…_

"Doctor!" the voice was familiar, but no, it couldn't be. Not here; the Master had finally broken his mind because he couldn't be hearing that voice. "Doctor!" _No, no, not here please, don't let her be here!_ He opened his eyes, afraid of what he might see, also afraid of what he might not. He was used to opening his eyes on darkness but this time there was a soft light.

_Lamplight? No, candlelight. _Someone had lit a candle and that someone was now kneeling beside him. He blinked against the unaccustomed light and looked up into the face he had never thought to see again.

"Rose?" his voice rasped from disuse and her name sounded strange to his ears. Something was very wrong; she shouldn't be here, there was a reason, a reason so powerful he could feel it burning in his memory, but he couldn't quite grasp it.

There were other memories pressing in on him now, memories he had buried so deep; drawing his consciousness into a tiny, tight ball, protecting his mind from phantoms that haunted him. Now the memories rushed back, tearing through the feeble walls constructed to keep them out and he closed his eyes as if somehow he could block out the images.

There had been others; he remembered them now. _Jack. Sarah-Jane. Martha. _No, not Jack, Jack was alive, wandering through the wasted Earth below, wandering on a fool's errand.

"Doctor, please!" he blocked out Rose's voice, so close to tears, and lost himself in the torrent of memories.

_Martha; her eyes were filled with guilt even in death. He fought against the guards holding him, struggling to get to her, to somehow stop the flow of red that surrounded her limp body. Too late, he'd abandoned her, failed her; too late to save her._

_Sarah-Jane defiant to the last, eyes still blazing with fury when the Toclaphane tore out her throat. He'd broken free, ran too her; her blood was warm on his hands as he tried to stem the flow. Too little; too late, she was gone and the blood of one of his oldest friends was on his hands. No one to blame but himself._

"Doctor!" Rose's voice was insistent, would not be ignored, but she wasn't there. The universe had stolen her from him; he hadn't saved her, he'd been helpless as she was torn from him and trapped forever in a universe he could never reach. It couldn't be Rose who knelt beside him, calling out. It couldn't be Rose's hand gently running through his hair. It was a dream, a trick of his weakening mind, the Master's final attempt to break him.

Did it matter? If she was a figment of his imagination surely she could still comfort him with her words and her touch. If he was mad he would never again know the difference between dream and reality. If she was a trick of the Master's would it not be better to give in, if only to see her face, hear her laugh?

"Please, listen to me; I don't have much time! You have to remember Jack, you have to remember why you sent him away!" Her voice was growing desperate and he frowned. He would hardly have dreamed Rose demanding him to remember where he'd sent Jack.

He opened his eyes, curiosity he could never quite conquer taking control again. She was older than he remembered, older and tired, or maybe he was older and tired and only imagining the same in her.

"You can't be here; it's impossible. You being here will tear a hole in the universe," he didn't mean to scold her, but the whole situation made very little sense.

Rose smiled, the heaviness in her eyes lifting. "Do you really think another hole in the universe matters at this point?" her expression darkened. "The Master's paradox machine has already done so much damage I don't think breaking a few more rules makes much of a difference."

_Paradox machine. _An image of a blue box flashed through his mind and he felt an inexplicable rage. "He took the TARDIS!"

Rose nodded. "Did he tell you who the Toclaphane are?"

He closed his eyes briefly trying to sort through the chaotic memories. _"Oh, Doctor! If you only knew; it would break your hearts!" _

"They're the future; they're what the human race becomes and now they're murdering their ancestors! That has to be why the Master needed to create a paradox machine." His memories were becoming clearer and he now remembered his whispered words to Jack. How could he have forgotten? Had he truly been so close to giving up?

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he wasn't sure who he was apologizing to. There was so much he would never make right, so many people he could never save, but this he could fix. He could save the Earth. He could save Jack.

The Doctor smiled and wrapped his arms around Rose. "Thank you Rose Tyler, for always knowing how to save me."

She laughed against his shoulder and in that moment it didn't matter if she was real because he could feel her beside him; could feel her heart beating, could feel the warmth of her breath against his neck and could feel her arms returning his embrace. For the moment that was enough and the Doctor drifted into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Jack was trying very hard not to curse; he'd expected that seeing what the Toclaphane really were would be a shock, but he hadn't expected them to have human faces inside their casing. He also had never imagined they would be the future of the human race. Tom seemed equally shocked but Professor Docherty was oddly unaffected. She was middle aged and her face was hard; her eyes shadowed, and Jack knew full well she was not to be trusted.

When she offered them a bed for the night Jack knew Tom wanted nothing more than to accept but he shook his head and insisted they continue on towards London. As it turned out the only made it as far as the slave quarters in an otherwise deserted town before Tom flatly refused to go further.

"London's overrun with wild dogs, if we go there at night we'll be eaten alive."

Jack scowled, calculating the odds of coming back to life inside a dogs stomach, and decided that it was best not to try. There was no option but to give in and allow Tom to lead him into the cramped, dirty house where at least a hundred miserable looking people huddled.

This was what the human race had come to; slavery and ruin, huddling together under filthy blankets to stave off the biting cold and vainly attempting to hold hunger at bay by eating the trash left behind by the Master's soldiers.

The people swarmed around Jack and Tom when they entered; staring at Jack with wide wondering eyes and plying him with questions in quiet, desperate voices.

Tom frowned, trying to push them back, but Jack shook his head. He was exhausted, but this was what made his travels worthwhile. The people, the desperate pleas for hope, the light that returned to dull eyes as he told his story. These people; not the precious chemicals in his pocket, not the distant hope of the Master's defeat, but the people of Earth were the reason he kept going.

They clustered around him; their eyes eager as he took a seat on the stairs and cleared his throat.

"There is a man, a wonderful man; and when everything seems lost, when hope dies and life becomes so bleak, that's when he comes. His name is the Doctor, and I know him; I've traveled with him, and he is going to save us. He is going to put everything right. He has already saved all of us so many times and we never knew because he never stops. He never stays to be thanked and he never expects recognition. He is always there; always watching and he loves us; all of us. He loves the whole stupid, idiotic, brilliant human race, and he will never, ever, stop trying to save us; to protect us."

Eyes grew bright, dirty faces broke into smiles, and exhausted broken people breathed deep and found hope again. Jack talked until his throat was sore and his voice hoarse; telling them of the Doctor, telling them about his plan to kill the Master; the gun in three parts scattered around the world. The gun that would kill the invincible monster who held them all in fear, and how he knew where the final part was concealed.

It was nearly dawn when the sound of whirring helicopter blades cut across his hoarse words, and the voice that made all who heard it cower in fear rang through the street.

"Jack! Captain Jack! Come out, come out where ever you are!"

Jack hid a smile as he stood and pushed his way through the frightened, cowering people. The Master had come and now it was time for Jack to complete the Doctor's plan.

_**Whew! Hopefully that all made sense; if not don't worry, everything will be explained eventually. I hope you enjoyed seeing Rose in this chapter! Also, I debated changing the rating and eventually decided that I would rather err on the side of caution so I went ahead and upped it to M, as later chapter will also get very intense in parts. Anyway, tangent over, maybe. Please leave me a review! And thank you to those who have review in the past; I hope to hear from you again. Until next time-Dalek**_


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